


The Ghost Whisperer

by Tokyo_the_Glaive



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Gen, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:46:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7638970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tokyo_the_Glaive/pseuds/Tokyo_the_Glaive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been two months since some pasty dude with serious personality issues tried to start the apocalypse using what he’d learned from Abby and Erin’s book. Their fame, and the gratitude that came with it, wore off fast, not that anyone was complaining about that. The Ghostbusters got calls about ghosts, some of them real, some of them not; Kevin continued to serve as the worst secretary ever (they had disconnected his phone, and yet he still claimed to be getting calls on it); and the mayor continued to be difficult.</p><p>It had been two months.</p><p>The thought of quitting had been sitting at the back of Patty’s mind for one.</p><p>(Or, the one where Patty thinks about leaving the Ghostbusters but changes her mind after meeting a very distraught ghost.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ghost Whisperer

It had been two months since some pasty dude with serious personality issues tried to start the apocalypse using what he’d learned from Abby and Erin’s book. Their fame, and the gratitude that came with it, wore off fast, not that anyone was complaining about that. The Ghostbusters got calls about ghosts, some of them real, some of them not; Kevin continued to serve as the worst secretary ever (they had disconnected his phone, and yet he still claimed to be getting calls on it); and the mayor continued to be difficult.

It had been two months.

The thought of quitting had been sitting at the back of Patty’s mind for one.

It wasn’t that she didn’t _like_ what they were doing. It was important. They were making a difference. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her friends, either. They were her _friends_. Sure, Holtzmann had a few loose screws, and Abby and Erin could sometimes lose everyone with their quasi-psychic way of talking to one another, but they were a team. They worked well together.

Or, the three of them worked well, and then there was Patty. Patty, who’d supplied the car. Patty, who knew _history_ because she read non-fiction.

Every day, Patty valued that less and less.

Patty didn’t have any fancy letters after her name. She had her high school diploma—framed, up on the wall in her apartment. She’d been a waitress and a department store clerk before she’d come to work at the MTA. She’d read religiously—she’d believed you didn’t need schooling to learn if you looked in the right places.

It was getting a little harder to swallow now. The appeal of the collective technobabble that surrounded ghosts had worn off not long after Patty signed on. Holtzmann was in her own world and was happy with it; Erin and Abby shared a world of their own. Patty tried to integrate herself in both and found herself in neither.

She hadn’t signed any contract when she’d joined up with the Ghostbusters, so she didn’t know the protocol for quitting or talking about quitting. These were her _friends_. She felt horrible even thinking about turning her back on them, but…

They’d needed her to get started, but they didn’t need her to continue. Patty didn’t think she could go on too much longer with that reality.

The day Patty bit the bullet and applied for her job back at the MTA, they got a call.

* * *

“Are you the Ghostbusters?”

A woman, heavyset and short, greeted them in the lobby of Chester Regional Hospital. Patty looked around while Abby and Erin made their introductions. The hospital had seen better days—the seats in the waiting area out front were worn and threadbare and the floors were filthy. The patients waiting to be seen didn’t look much better.

It figured, Patty guessed. Hospitals that drew poor patients didn’t tend to draw much money to help them.

“You okay?” Holtzmann asked. Patty looked at her friend. Holtzmann had pulled down her glasses and pushed up her goggles. It might have been funny had Patty been in a better place. “You’ve been weird all morning.”

“I’m fine,” Patty said. She didn’t feel fine. Holtzmann frowned at her and started to say something, but Abby and Erin were moving, following the woman to a set of doors that would lead them into the hospital. Holtzmann and Patty followed quickly.

“It appeared last night,” the woman said. “We need this taken care of as quickly as possible. It’s calm enough around the patients, but it’s made to attack several nurses and one of our doctors. We can’t move anyone or adequately administer care until it’s gone.”

“Where’s the ghost now?” Abby asked.

“It hasn’t left the maternity ward since it appeared,” the woman said.

“Jesus,” Erin said under her breath. “And it hasn’t bothered the patients?”

“From what we can tell, no,” the woman said. They passed through another set of doors and came to a halt. The woman was shaking now. “Just up ahead.”

Abby and Erin readied their proton packs. Patty was slower to the draw.

“Hang on,” she said. “The maternity ward.”

“Patty?” Abby asked. “Something wrong?”

“There,” Holtzmann said, pointing. “By that door.”

Patty looked, one hand on her pack, and stopped short.

The ghost looked like a woman. She wore a hospital gown and didn’t have any shoes. Patty turned to the woman from the hospital to find her fleeing down the corridor they’d come in from.

“Not getting any help from her,” Holtzmann said, drawing her own pack. “Ready to catch a ghost?”

“On my mark,” Abby said. “Three, two—”

“Wait,” Patty said, stepping forward.

“Patty, it’s right there!” Erin said. “Patty, don’t—”

But Patty had made up her mind. She let her hands fall to her sides and walked slowly toward the ghost.

“Excuse me,” Patty said. “Excuse me, miss?” The ghost didn’t move. “Miss, are you all right?”

The ghost swiveled, eyes flashing. Patty prepared to get slimed.

“You’re not a doctor,” the ghost said.

“No,” Patty said, “I’m not. But I’d like to help you.”

The ghost turned back to staring at the door. “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“You’re not a doctor.”

From across the room, Abby was gesturing wildly. “Patty,” she whispered, “Patty, get over here!”

Patty ignored her. “I’m not a doctor,” she said. “But I want to help you anyway. Are you looking for something?”

“You can’t help,” the ghost said.

“Let me try. See, my friends,” Patty pointed back at Abby, “the hospital called us to get you out of here.”

The ghost rose up. “I’m not leaving,” she snarled.

“I know, I know,” Patty said, arms up, “but you’re here for a reason. Let me help you.”

The ghost continued to rise.

“Please,” Patty said. Then, grasping for anything, she said, “Were you a patient here?”

The ghost tilted her head. “Yes,” she said. “I’m a patient. But there’s someone in my room.” She pointed at the door directly ahead of her.

Patty understood, then.

“That was your room?” Patty asked. “You must’ve had a baby?”

The ghost’s expression morphed. “I can’t find her,” the ghost wailed. “I can’t find her. There’s someone in my bed, and my baby’s gone, my baby’s gone…” The ghost shook, head bowed. “She was in my arms, and I fell asleep, and now she’s gone, she’s gone…”

Patty took a deep breath. Behind her, she heard Erin say, “Oh my God.”

“Miss, let me help you,” Patty said. “We’re going to find your baby, okay? What’s your name?” The ghost shook from side to side. “What’s your name, honey?”

“Melissa Baxter,” the ghost said. “Who are you?”

“I’m Patty, Patty Tolan,” Patty said. “Was there anyone with you when you were in there?” she asked.

Melissa nodded. “My partner,” she said, “Tina.”

“Does Tina have a phone number?” Patty asked. “We can call her, see if she knows.”

“Why did she leave?” Melissa asked. “She left me, my baby…”

“I’ll bet you she didn’t,” Patty said. “I’ll bet she’ll be so glad to see you— Just, please, does she have a number?”

Melissa rattled off a number. Behind her, Patty heard someone calling—Erin, from the sounds of it.

“Wherever Tina is,” Patty said, “I’m sure she’ll be here soon. She’ll be so happy to see you…”

Patty kept that up for half an hour. Melissa continued to float in front of the door, upset, wondering where her baby had gone. Patty learned that she and Tina had settled on Brittany for their daughter’s name. It was a pretty name, Patty told her. A good name. Smart, too. Melissa had smiled at that.

Patty was nearly out of steam when the doors to the ward opened again. Melissa, who’d been focused on Patty throughout, looked up sharply at the noise.

“Tina,” she said. She passed _straight through_ Patty—leaving behind slime, _gross_ —to come to Tina’s side.

In Tina’s arms was a little baby, asleep and swaddled tightly.

“Melissa,” Tina said. “Melissa, you…” Tina started to cry.

“Tina, hush, no, no…” Melissa said. “They kicked me out of my room, I couldn’t find you—”

Tina smiled. “Melissa, you died.”

“We should leave them,” Abby said, looking between Tina and Melissa. Patty agreed. Carefully moving around the pair and the baby, she joined the others in the hallway.

“Patty,” Abby said, “that was… Wow.”

“Yeah,” Erin said. “How did you know she’d talk to you?”

“I didn’t,” Patty said. “I just saw the hospital gown, you know?”

“That was smooth,” Holtzmann said. “I like it.”

“What do we do now, though?” Erin asked, looking back at the doors. Melissa was still floating, her face distraught. “What if she attacks?”

“She won’t,” Patty said. “That ghost in there’s not a mean one. I don’t think she even knew she was dead.”

“That’s rough,” Abby said. “Still, we’ve got to get her out of there. There are other pregnant people in there. The doctors have to be able to get in to treat them.”

“Give them a few minutes,” Patty said. “I think they’re going to work it out.”

* * *

It took a little longer than a few minutes.

After a little more than two hours and five visits from an increasingly distraught hospitalist, the doors to the ward opened up. Tina, crying and clutching at the baby—at Brittany—stood alone.

Melissa was gone.

“Is everything okay?” Patty asked.

Tina shook her head. “Yeah,” she said. Patty knew that tone—she’d taken it with Holtzmann in the waiting room out front. “Melissa is— She’s gone, now.” She smiled, tears spilling over. “Thank you for calling me.”

“Are you going to be all right?” Abby asked. “Do you need a ride?”

“No,” Tina said. She readjusted her grip on Brittany. “I think— I’m glad. I got to see her one more time. I knew she was looking out for us, but now— Now, I _know_ she is.”She smiled again. Patty’s heart broke.

“Come on,” Abby said, taking Patty’s hand. Holtzmann came up on her other side. She didn’t hold her hand, but she loop their arms. “Let’s tell them Melissa’s gone.”

* * *

They got sandwiches afterwards. Erin toasted Patty with a bottle of Coca Cola, and they sat on a bench outside the shop and ate. They talked little. Patty didn’t have much of an appetite.

Holtzmann, who’d settled in next to Abby, got up and moved to sit next to Patty.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” Patty said.

“That thing you did back there,” Holtzmann said. “That was a good thing.”

“Yeah,” Patty said.

“I couldn’t do that,” Holtzmann said. “How’d you do it?”

“I just talked to her.”

Holtzmann shook her head. “It’s more than that, it’s…” She fiddled with her glasses and took an enormous bite out of her sandwich. “I can’t talk to people like that,” she said. “I don’t know how.” Patty looked at her, lowering her sandwich. “Abby’s good with people like me, but Erin’s awkward, too.” Erin protested, but Holtzmann said, “You’re like our ghost whisperer. Tell us your secrets.”

Patty laughed at that. “Have you always been this crazy?” she asked.

Holtzmann grinned. “Day one,” she said. “How about you? You always been this good with people?”

Patty shrugged. “Day one,” she said, smiling.

* * *

(Patty rescinded her application to the MTA and tore up her letter of resignation that night. It was more a symbol than anything else; she’d written it on the computer. She printed it out  _expressly to tear it to pieces_ . She threw it like confetti and vacuumed it up afterward.

The Ghost Whisperer. She liked that. She liked that a lot.)


End file.
